Pert Near Sandstone

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Given its polar clime, Minnesota wouldn't seem to be bluegrass territory. But it is, as evidenced by Pert Near Sandstone, the new-timey string band whose adept, breakneck picking rivals any of their Southern kin while adding their own contemporary spin. Their fifth album, Paradise Hop, offers a fresh selection of originals plus a couple of traditional tunes given Sandstone treatment. On "All Night Long" that means a new final verse with a wry bit of modern slang from Nate Sipe. The new tunes boast the exuberant drive and rousing energy of a timeless, serious picking session. But their lyrics often deal with 21st-century angst, like that of the frazzled character in J. Lenz and Kevin Kniebel's "Save Me." There are some local references, too, like the 35W collapse in Sipe's "Sad When That Great Bridge Went Down," giving some Northern specificity to Southern mountain music. With Charlie Parr, Elephant Revival. 18+.
Fri., April 6, 8 p.m., 2012